cryptocurrency: advertising spending of crypto exchanges at Rs 50 crore in the World Cup

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Mumbai: Indian cryptocurrency exchanges collectively spent over 50 crore yen during the recent ICC T20 World Cup.

The blitz, dominated by CoinDCX, may have heightened government and regulatory concerns over virtual currencies and the ads that promote them, some experts say.

Data shows that the CoinDCX cryptocurrency exchange advertised seven times per match on each channel during the tournament, spending a total of 40 crore on sponsorship on Star Sports. Rival CoinSwitch Kuber focused on Star’s video streaming service Disney + Hotstar during the World Cup. Advertising spend from other exchanges such as WazirX is 4-6 crore.

CoinDCX Top Spender With around 50 ads per game across all channels, CoinDCX had a total TV inventory of almost 10 hours, according to reports from TAM Sports, a division of TAM Media Research.

Data from the first 42 matches also shows that the cryptocurrency exchange had a 4% share of the overall ad volume during the tournament.

CoinSwitch Kuber, which had a sponsorship deal with Disney + Hotstar, spent more than 10 crore, people with knowledge of the matter said.

CoinDCX and CoinSwitch Kuber did not respond to queries.

It was the first time that cryptocurrency exchanges had gone wild during a major sporting event in India. Media experts said television ads from cryptocurrency exchanges have skyrocketed over the past month.

The issue was raised on Saturday at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended by officials from ministries and regulators, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which reportedly reiterated its advocacy for a ban. Those at the meeting raised concerns, noting that “non-transparent and misleading” advertising must stop.

Rule making The government is likely to approach India’s Advertising Standards Council to push for more disclosure and stricter regulatory warnings to accompany advertisements on virtual currencies or their trading platforms.

Legal experts have also issued red flags about the ads, fearing the ads suggest guaranteed returns or make exaggerated claims. “The new regulations make celebrities advertising a product liable for future fraud or litigation. Celebrities advertising cryptocurrency would also be covered by this,” said a senior lawyer advising a major exchange of crypto.

Currently, there are no regulations on cryptocurrencies. The government wants to regulate crypto assets and could look to come up with a framework as early as December, people familiar with the matter said. He wants crypto exchanges to stop “deceiving young people” through such ads, one of the people said.

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